FAQ - Business Directory
We provide a general purpose business directory management system. The directory is built upon the principle that the client or lister first creates a listing, which then the web master approves manually after recieving payment if required.
A business directory can be used to:
- generate reoccuring income for your business by providing paid listings
- offer customers or clients an opportunity to promote and market their business
- provide a backlink for SEO purposes for other websites
- sell advertising space
- collect email addresses for marketing purposes
- set up a membership site
Set Up Options for a Business Directory
We have created a free business directory which can be found at www.businessnetworking.nz and you are welcome to look through it to see how we have created regions and categories. It is a person moderated directory, meaning we manually approve each application for it.
Classifications
Each listing can belong to multiple categories/classifications.
Directories / categories/ classifications can be presented in a muti level tree format, or gallery format, or multiple formats available to be customised by a web designer.
You should treat regions as classifications. There is no specific regional drop down box.
Only one classification can be selected by the user / customer. Additional classifications can be added as an optional extra by the webmaster.
Enhanced Graphical Listing
Each listing gets one primary image, but "authorised logged in users" can upload additional images and text into a WYSIWYG text editor, to create more advanced layouts.
Control Who Can Register
You can either provide public registrations into the directory, or hide this so only the webmaster can do it.
In the setup area for your directory, you can enter some introductory/header text to provide guidance on who can add listings, and how much they might cost.
Keeping information up to date
Members will be sent a notice after about 180 days or as you select, to request they confirm their contact details are still relevant. You can set it up so that stale listings get archived and disappear from the public website.
Demonstrating Value To Advertisers
Every email enquiry to a listing advertiser will come from your website, with a reply to address of the actual person enquiring. The footer of the email will clearly indicate the inquiry has come from your website.
You can monitor all these emails in the members tab under "view messages" or set your self up as the page notification address to get copies of the emails in real time.
Payment for Listings
There are a few ways to take payment for listings. Following completion of a directory listing submission, the user is presented with any "products" to purchase.
These products might be structured to give them different priorities on page, or enhanced listing to span multiple categories.
The features you are offer are not applied automatically. Upon receipt of payment you should then upgrade their listing accordingly.
Alternatively you can use the membership approach
Membership Directory Listings / Listing Renewals
By default, when members join your website, their contact details are private. This remains true even with a directory. The approach of offering members a directory listing is then an "add on" or inclusion of their existing membership.
You can set the directory listings to only accept listings from "authorised members", and also set minimum status for members that they must maintain in order to keep their listing.
This approach thus allows you to manage automatic billing of directory listings and renewals, via the renewal being for the membership of the website, and the directory itself being a perk. This approach requires minimal ongoing administration, as the membership renewal system will automatically send members renewal notices for their membership near expiry.
FAQ Topics
Building your site
Advanced Page Types
E-Commerce
- Shopping Basics
- Category Management
- Products
- Product Options
- Layout and Formatting
- Payment Options
- Processing Orders
- Advanced Ecommerce
- Product Pricing, Currencies
- Plugins
- Wholesale
- Rental, Booking and Appointment Systems
- Couriers / Shipping
- Stock & Quantities
- Vouchers, Discounts, Loyalty Points
- Selling Photos / Prints
- Shopping Cart Add-on Page types
- Advanced APIs / Add ons
- Point of Sale (POS)
- Reports
- Orders / Invoices
Email & Membership
- Member Management
- Members Pages / Template Customisations
- From Addresses and Reply To Email Notifications
- Global Enquiry form options
- Standard Field Names
- Webmail
- Bulk Email
- CRM Features
- Email Campaigns
- Forums & Blogs
- Pop3/Imap Email Services
- Scams and Hoaxes
- Lead Magnets / Growing Your Customer Database
- Form Spam Filtering